Following a memorable season where the Wellington High School girls varsity softball team reached the Florida High School Athletic Association’s (FHSAA) Class 7A final four, the Wolverines hosted their annual end-of-season awards banquet on Friday, June 2 at the Wanderers Club in Wellington.
While one of the reasons for the awards dinner was to recognize key individual contributions during the recently completed season, head coach Mark Boretti used the venue to honor all 16 players on his roster for their role in the team’s journey to the FHSAA’s Class 7A final four — #1 Kylie McCann, #2 Angelina Mangini, #3 Madelyn Touchet, #4 Brianna Casey, #5 Kelsie Riggan, #6 Emma Johnson, #7 D’yami Meredith, #9 Isabelle Speaker, #10 Jordan White, #11 Gabriella D’arcangelo, #12 Kaylee Riles, #13 Ava Matrascia, #14 Kaitlyn Campbell, #16 Samantha Gregory, #17 Erryn Lowe and #18 Tori Payne.
“Our success this past season was truly a team effort, in every way,” Boretti said. “They say that there’s no ‘I’ in team, and I know it’s a cliché, but it’s true.”
As for the individual awards, sophomore Tori Payne was recognized as the team’s Most Valuable Pitcher; freshman Madelyn Touchet was named the team’s Defensive Player of the Year; sophomore Kaylee Riles and junior Kelsie Riggan were honored as the Co-Offensive Players of the Year; senior Kylie McCann was chosen to receive the Coaches Award; and senior Jordan White was selected as the team’s overall Most Valuable Player.
Boretti had words of praise for each of his award-winning players.
“Tori was a bulldog on the mound. She came in to put out many fires and shut the door on the opposition,” he said. “Maddie was our biggest surprise at the beginning of the season and became our starting shortstop. Kaylee and Kelsie had virtually identical statistics. They batted in the four and five slots and drove in a number of runs. Kaylee was our catcher and led our team in doubles with nine. Kelsie, who played centerfield, could run and hit for power. Kylie, who played second base, displayed great leadership, played like a coach in the field and was very positive throughout the season. Jordan had an amazing season as a pitcher and as a hitter, where she batted third. On the mound, she had the team’s lowest earned run average (1.73). As a hitter, Jordan led the team in batting average (.467), on-base percentage (.507), hits (28), home runs (4) and RBIs (27).”
Meanwhile, Campbell led the team in steals (14) and runs scored (26), while Payne had the most triples (3) on the squad.
While this year’s team had an impressive final record of 20-3-1, Boretti feels next year’s team can possibly be better, but it will take one special ingredient: energy.
“I’ll be back as the head coach, but our team needs to come with the energy that is needed to succeed as a group,” Boretti said.
